Mash-tub



(No Model.)

P. NIEMANN. Mash Tub.

No. 242,146. Patented May 31,1881.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FERDINAND NIEMANN, OF GREENBRIER, TENNESSEE.

MASH-TUB.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,146, dated May 31, 1881. Application filed August 2,1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FERDINAND NIEMANN, of Greenbrier, Robertson county, Tennessee, have invented an Improvement in Mash-Tubs, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to enable dis tillers to scald the meal and other ingredients entering into the mash more thoroughly and quickly than could be done heretofore, and when the scalding is accomplished to more readily cool the same down to the requisite degree necessary for setting the same for fermentation, and to perform this operation more cleanly and without the escapement of steam and moisture over the house, as is unavoidable in the old manner of working, as will be more readily understood by the following description of the accompanying drawing.

The drawing is a sectional view through the center of the mash-tub and its equipments, in which A represents the mash-tub, which is constructed with a perfectly-tight head or cover over the top of same, sufficiently high above the bottom of the tub to permit a person to stand erect when in thetub for the purpose of cleaning the same.

B is the rake-head, filled with teeth, and operated as is usual in distilleries.

O is a door or manhole in the side of the mash-tub, large enough to permit a man to get into the tub for the purpose of cleaning th same.

D is the stack or tube, constructed of metal or other material, extending from the top, head, or cover of mash-tub, to which it is attached, up to and through the roof of the building in which the mash-tub is situated, and connecting the interior of the mash-tub with the air above the roof of the building, a hole the size of the inside diameter of the stack being cut through the top, head, or cover of the mash-tub, and the bottom end of the stack being flanged and fastened securely to the top of the tub, so as to be perfectly tight.

Near the bottom end of the stack I place a register-valve, E, which is made to fit the inside of the stack and to close it perfectly tight. This valve is placed under the control of the distiller by the lever L on the outside of the stack, and is attached to the axis of the register-valve E, for the purpose of opening and closing said valve as desired.

F is a blast-fan, which receives its supply of cold air, through the pipe K, from the cellar or other cold locality, and forcing it through the pipes G G and H E into the mash-tub when cooling down, and at other times when necessary.

The stack can be placed in any part of the top, head, or cover, but I prefer to place it as near the center of the tub as I can.

The mode of operating the apparatus is this: The necessary quantity of water is put into the mash-tub, the register-valve and the opening G being both tightly closed. Steam is admitted through the steam-pipes connecting the mash-tub with the steam-boilers of the distillery and the temperature of the water raised to the necessary degree for scalding the meal and other ingredients, which are now admitted into the mash-tub, and the mash-rake started in motion to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients while being admitted) with the Water, as is usually done in the open mashtub; but I can more perfectly perform this part of the operation, from the fact that I confine the steam generated while scalding the mash in the mash-tub, and can run the rake at any desired speed during the mashing operation, as all is completely confined in my improved tub, and no splashing over and wasting of material can occur 5 and when necessary to cool down it is done by opening the register-valve in the stack and putting the fan in operation and forcing the cold air into the mash-tub, which drives all the steam and attendant heat in the mash-tub out of it through the stack and out of the building, instead of spreading over and condensing all over the house, as in the old way of working.

With my apparatus I not only scald the mash and cool down more perfectly than in the old tub, but I do it quicker and more cleanly than has heretofore been done, and I can realize a greater yield of spirits from the products of the operation.

Having fully described my apparatus and its operation, what I claim as my invention 1s- A mash-tub constructed with a tight head or cover, in combination with a stack provided with a register-valve and a blast-fan and airpipes, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

FERDINAND NIEMANN.

Witnesses D. H. CASWELL, WILLIAM MASON. 

